Disclaimer: I don't own Hsm

The sun was shining. The birds were chirping. It was a beautiful day. Troy opened his eyes and groaned. On the outside everything seemed perfect in his life. He was the captain of the basketball team in his high school. He had a beautiful girlfriend both on the inside and on the outside. He had wonderful friends and a family who loved him (including an older and a younger sister). Sure he had typical teenage problems. Every teenager does but for Troy it went deeper then that. As perfect as his life was he felt a huge sense of sorrow. He wished he had never woken up What was the point of living? What was the point of anything. Troy wiped away the single tear that gently cascaded down his face and got himself dressed. He put on another mask. He was pretending that everything was great. It was not but he wasn't going to let anyone else know. Fate took a turn that day.

"Troy," Jack said, "I need to talk to you for a minute."
Troy groaned to himself. This was probably something he didn't want to hear. He put on a fake smile.

"Sure dad," Troy said, "What's up?"

"That's what I want to know," Jack said, "You haven't been yourself lately Troy."

You just noticed this now?

"I'm fine," Troy lied, "Nothing's wrong?"

"No," Jack said, "You're not fine. You've lost your passion. It's like you're there but you aren't there an nothing can force you back to the Troy you were. I want to know why."

"I can't tell you why," Troy said, "It's not anything I understand dad. Lately when I wake up I wish I hadn't. I mean things that would normally just be annoying or that I would normally shrug off haunts me. If I have a fight with Chad I can't stop thinking about it. If I have a bad day I just don't want to get out of bed in the morning. It's getting harder and harder to put on a happy face. It's getting harder and harder to stop myself from hurting. I drag myself day in and day out and I don't have the energy anymore. It's not working."
Jack held up on hand and gently put one hand on top of his son's arm.

"Troy there's no reason you should hide it. There isn't anything you need to hide."

"You don't understand the panic I feel every day and the sorrow I sink into every day. It's horrible."

"I do understand," Jack said, "Troy I went through the same thing you did when I was your age. Nobody understood what I was going through and I felt like I was absolutely alone."

"How did you get through it," Troy asked.

"I had to see a therapist," Jack said, "and a physiatrist."

"You mean a crazy person doctor? Dad I'm not insane!"

"Troy having a psychological illness is no more insane then having cancer is evil. You have an illness and you just need to get it resolved. That's the only thing. I owe you an apology too. I should have picked up on this. I should have realized that there was a reason that you were so out of sorts."

"Well I'm a teenager," Troy said with a slight laugh. Then he got serious.

"When you were going through this did it seem like NOTHING made sense to you anymore? Even the things that used to make sense no longer did?"

"Absolutely," Jack said, "But that's going to happen many times in your life. It's called growing up. I remember one time when you had done something that deserved punishment and yet you said, "I'm growing up. Talk to me like I'm a young adult cause that's what I am."
Troy laughed.

"I was like eight years old at that point," he said.

"Yes," Jack replied, "You were always mature for your age. The point is that you've always been mature. You've always been independent but even 'young adults' sometimes need to be taken care of."

"What if I need to be in a mental hospital," Troy asked.

"WOAH Troy," Jack said, "One step at a time. If you need to be hospitalized for a little while that's not a big deal"

"I won't have any friends anymore," he said.

"If someone is going to stop being your friend because you're sick," Jack said, "Then they are the ones who are really sick. Troy you probably will not have to be hospitalized but if you do that's alright."
Jack made an appointment for Troy to see a therapist and a physiatrist. Troy was put on Paxal (an anti depression) and Xanx (an anti anxiety medication). Soon Troy started feeling better. He started improving with just a little bit of encouragement. Shortly thereafter Troy started to go back to normal.